Dear Inner Circle,
There’s a funny gap in the calendar around this time of year when the footy season has finished, and Christmas is still a way off. Suddenly the weeks can lose a bit of shape as the cherished routine of a weekly matchup falls away.
Many here follow their team and their code religiously (at least something brings them to the Chapel) and enjoy having familiar faces to debate the results with. With that all wrapped up for another season, the months ahead can feel particularly long, especially for the ones who find Christmas more painful than joyous or for whom a weekly appointment, even just in front of the TV for 80 minutes, keeps the bad feelings away.
I was reminded recently how this ‘gap in programming’ is one that leaves people being drawn to older ways of coping with the void.
Sitting around the community lunch table recently, my friend had announced that he had reached five years sober. Unprompted, others around the table began sharing their own stories.
“Forty years for me.”
“One year next month.”
“I just slipped up, but there’s always tomorrow.”
As lunch came to an end, the tables were cleared and chairs scraped back into place as my friends went on their way. They were all travelling in different directions, but most would likely be back here next week. Same time, same place.
Sometimes turning up means a milestone worth celebrating, and sometimes it is just knowing there will be a familiar face and a seat at the table between the footy season and Christmas, whatever either of those things means to you.
Thank you for being part of the Inner Circle,
Jon
Rev. Jon Owen
CEO & Pastor
Wayside Chapel